"As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15
The Old Testament quote that appears above appears in the final chapter in the book of Joshua, which refers to covenant-keeping families. Basically, the belief is that those who serve and trust in the successive promises of God will be eternally blessed. Ironically, that same verse can also be found on a small wooden sign that is tacked to a tree in front of the charred remains of the Caffey home in Emory, Texas.
According to police, Penny Caffey, 37, and her two sons, Mathew, 13, and Tyler, 8, were murdered inside their home at about 4:00 a.m. Saturday. Details remain sketchy but police believe multiple assailants stabbed and shot the victims to death. The killers then allegedly set fire to the home before fleeing the scene.
Unbeknownst to the killers, a fourth victim of the predawn attacks, Terry Caffey, the father, survived. He was able to drag himself out of the home before it became fully engulfed in flames. Shot four times, Terry somehow managed to summon the will power to continue dragging himself roughly 300 yards through the woods to a neighbor's house, where he summoned help.
When police and paramedics arrived at the scene, Terry reportedly provided them with information that led to the arrest of four teens, including the Caffey's 16-year-old daughter, whom police have yet to name. The other three suspects have been identified as Charlie James Wilkinson, 18, Charles Allen Waid (some reports suggest the spelling Wade), 20, and Bobbi Gale Johnson, 18.
"We feel confident that the motive was the fact that the juvenile daughter and one of the individuals in custody were dating and that the parents were attempting to break the relationship up, which led to the crime that was committed," Rains County Sheriff David Traylor told the Associated Press.
According to a MySpace profile, allegedly belonging to Johnson, she and Waid are currently dating. The title section of the page prominently displays: "I LOVE CHARLES ALLEN WAID!!!!!!"
Midway down the page, in the "About Me" section, the author wrote:
"My name is bobbi ...i love football best sport i know ... i love to sing ... my goal is to go hunting and mudding before i leave this hicktown...i like to have fun and hang with my friends...pretty much most of the time im a happy person who likes to make people laugh...or just laugh period...and i love the guys ...anyway that’s mostly me..." [Sic throughout].
A blog attached to the profile was last updated on Sept. 30, 2007. That entry reads in part:
"You know what im tired of life. tired of all the stupid a**holes … i dont seem to have any REAL friend or even ppl i can trust. i just have to look out for me. maybe this life will go on fast and ill die a young age. because if this is how life is going to be all the fucking time. I DONT WANNA BE HERE…" [Sic throughout].
A search of MySpace also revealed a profile for a Charlie Wilkinson from Emory; however, the page is private. Last night, Truecrimeweblog.com found a third MySpace page that allegedly belongs to Waid. However, that page is also private and cannot be viewed.
Yesterday, all four suspects were arraigned on three counts of capital murder. Wilkinson, Waid, and Johnson are being held at the Rains County jail on a $1.5 million bond. The Caffey's daughter is currently being held at Hunt County's juvenile detention center on the same bond amount.
"When I first heard, I was like, I don't even think I would have crawled out of the house," Rev. Todd McGahee, of Miracle Faith Baptist Church, told his congregation yesterday. "But God has a purpose for Terry's life. God has a reason. God gave him the strength to get out."
Due to the condition of the victim's bodies, police have not yet been able to determine a cause of death. As of this writing Terry Caffey remains in critical condition at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler.
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